Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu has revealed he wants to stay at the club for the foreseeable future and that he believes his ability will allow him to.
The Ghanaian international has spent the last three seasons at St James’ Park, the first as a loanee from Chelsea in the Championship before turning his move permanent in the summer of 2017.
Having spent much of the last campaign as backup for Rafael Benitez’s men, only half of his 32 appearances coming among the starting XI, the 60-cap forward says that his lack of action has not deterred him from continuing his career on Tyneside.
He told Football Made In Ghana: “I’m very happy at Newcastle, I’m happy with fans, especially with Benitez and the staff.
“I would love to stay there for many years but it will depend on me and my performance. I have to do my job. As many years as I want, I believe I can stay if I’m playing really good.”
Opinion
Wanting to stay at the club is one thing – whether Benitez wants to keep him is something different entirely. It is interesting to hear that he has not allowed what was a pretty poor season, with one goal all he has to show for his 32 appearances and 16 starts across all competitions, affect his mood. He says that he believes he can stay if he is playing really good but on that basis he should be expecting to be shipped out this summer. Yes, he was nowhere near as bad as Kenedy or Jacob Murphy but that is not saying an awful lot. He is a willing runner and someone who will try his hardest but sometimes hard work does not make up for the lack of required talent. He has got to do an awful lot to convince the Toon Army he is worthy of remaining at their club. It does not look like he is angling for a move any time soon, which could throw a spanner in the works of the Magpies if they do look to get rid.
